The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that long-range Tu-22 bombers and Su-34 fighter bombers flew from Hamdan in northwestern Iran and struck targets in Aleppo, Deir al-Zour and Idlib provinces linked to the Islamic State and Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, which was once affiliated with al-Qaeda.
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The planes destroyed five armament depots, three command posts and militant training camps in Aleppo, Deir el-Zor and Idlib, the Russian Defense Ministry said according to USA Today.
Ali Shamkhani, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told IRNA state news agency on Tuesday that Moscow and Tehran “exchange capacities and facilities” in the fight against terrorism in Syria.
There was no immediate comment from Iranian officials.
The LCC says the warplanes that carried out the airstrikes Tuesday were Russian, while the Observatory says it was not immediately clear.
Russian Federation has backed Syrian regime leader Bashar al Assad in the five-year-old Syrian conflict, while the United States wants to see Assad step down.
Conducting its bombing raids from Iran will dramatically cut the time it takes Moscow’s long-range bombers to reach Syria.
The raids are the first Russian Federation has reported carrying out from a base in Iran since the Kremlin launched its Syrian bombing campaign in support of longtime ally President Bashar Assad last September.
Meanwhile, Syrian troops repelled a rebel advance near Aleppo yesterday, forcing opposition forces to retreat from positions they seized a day earlier as heavy fighting continued in the country’s largest city.
Russia has been flying bombing missions from an airbase in Syria since late previous year, but according to Russian state-owned broadcaster RT, its runway is too short to fit fully loaded Tu-22M3. The bomber aircraft took off from an air base in Iran.
Local sources said at least 200 rebel fighters from various factions have bases at the border crossing in Atmeh and use the crossing to receive weapons, supplies and additional fighters.
These planes – originally designed as a long-range strategic bomber – have already been engaged in the Syrian air campaign but operating from bases in southern Russian Federation.
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The move shows Russia is expanding its role and presence in the Middle East and comes amid Russian media reports Moscow has asked Iran and Iraq for permission to fire cruise missiles at Syrian targets across their territory from the Caspian Sea. However, nothing bars Iranian officials from allowing foreign countries to use an airfield.
